Hi Family and Friends. Thanks so much to all of you who have continued to keep us in your thoughts and prayers on our adoption journey. We've finally had some progress in the last month and we are so excited to share.
The adoption committee met several months ago to match families with kids. We were not matched and were bummed, but were told we are next on the list for a boy within our agency. Then in mid-August we got a call from Jackie, who is the head of our agency (International Child Foundation in Phoenix), saying that another family who had been waiting for a very long time had been matched with a 5 year old boy but had decided to pursue a different path. She asked if we wanted to be matched with him, and we of course said yes! I wasn't exactly sure what all it would entail to have him officially "re-matched" with our family, but Jackie ensured us this happens and lot and it wouldn't be a problem, it would just take time....and she wasn't kidding when she said it'd take time!
So today, just a month after we got that call from her, we have an official referral letter from Burundi matching us with a 5 year old boy named Kenny. We are so excited, nervous, overjoyed, and everything in between :) We are planning on telling the kids tonight...as we wanted to make sure the match was really going to happen before sharing the news with them. I think in their heads they always thought we'd have a "baby brother" and the age will be a bit of a surprise, but we're hoping he fits right in to the delightful circus we already have.
The next step will be completing paperwork with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office. Then we will have everything mailed over to Burundi for it to process through their court system. This will mean more waiting, probably 6-9 months...I think it would be realistic for us to plan to travel to pick him up towards the end of this school year.
We also learned of an Montessori school in Burundi that we are enrolling Kenny in for this school year. They teach the kids English which we think will be a big benefit while we wait to bring him home. It is called Bujumbura International Montessori. So we are hoping this will be a good experience for him!
Also, we wanted to thank all of you who have supported us financially through this process. It has been a huge blessing for a family. Our fundraising site can be found at:
www.adopttogether.org/baucherfamily
We so appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, and support. Keep them coming!
We'll hopefully have more frequent updates now as we feel like we are finally getting the ball rolling almost 2 years into the process!
We love you all and God Bless!
Kristen and Brian
